For some years I have searched for the perfect dress watch. I am not a "flipper," and for a serious purchase I generally intend to keep for life, and much because of that I prefer to buy new only. I have a small number of criteria, one might think, at first glance: 36mm or under, yellow gold, preferably baton hour markers or other non-numerals but possibly arabic numerals and definitely not Roman numerals, as well as minute markers. I don't even mind date or no date or seconds hand or not. A small checklist but seemingly impossible to satisfy in today's market. A Lange have a very nice offering at 34mm, but I probably prefer the Swiss aesthetic to German. Other than that there seems to be nothing. Regardless, I am not in a position to buy something high end at the moment.

I'm not someone who yearns for the good old days and wishes to go back in time, but to me 33-36mm was the ideal size for a dress watch, or indeed the average everyday watch. So, if not go back in time, why not at least go to the era?

I don't like superfluous things in my life, and so in terms of watch collecting I never want to just accumulate for the sake of diversity, or indeed on any old whim: I think very carefully about my next moves and buy the "best" I possibly can.

Thus, since I have my two best everyday watches, the Speedmaster and Explorer II, and a few other special watches I wear a lot less, I had long resisted doing what I just have. But, I thought, now is as good a time as any to relax this arbitrary rule on accumulation.

And somehow, as if on-cue, a friend of mine was divesting himself of his vintage collection, and offered me this watch at a very generous price.

The Omega Geneve ref. 166.070 yellow gold capped, powered by c.565.

It fulfils all of my criteria: 34mm, gold (in colour), baton markers. And the 1960s Swiss aesthetic that I just think is unbeatable. So, not new and first owner, not modern high horology, but very very satisfying indeed.

Thanks for reading. I can see myself enjoying this one for the foreseeable future.
- Julian

It's beautiful and versatile.
I have a similar Geneve with manual wind Cal. 613

I'm sure you know but I would like to add that Cal 565 is the unregulated version of the Constellation Cal 564, in my opinion, one of the finest movements Omega made.
The quickest date feature is a joy too.

indeed, the movement was a further aspect important to me: the person who got me interested in watches early on was a family friend with a 60+ year career as a watchmaker. In his time he was an authorised service agent for many of the high end brands (before they became "haute horology"). In his opinion the c.564 was the best production movement ever made, and indeed he bought himself a Constellation in the late 1960s as his everyday watch. That always stuck with me.

the date magnifier, and whether the crystal would be original to this watch? I can find photos of other models from the 1960s with the date magnifier but none of this particular model/configuration. Anyone know anything further?

... from imported movements and local US made cases, dials &c. To me it seems that these models are often a bit more adventurous than the conservative European models: the dials more interesting and additional features such as the date magnifier.

I don't know if your Genève is one of those but it might be a possibility.